*** HullabaLOU is a new music festival being held at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. The festival features a load of the classic rock acts we like here at the Music Report, such as the Steve Miller Band, the Doobie Brothers and Huey Lewis and the News. The Doobies are playing Friday and Michael McDonald is playing Saturday, could there be an on-stage reunion?

Reviews

Reviews

Y Not - Ringo Starr (Hip-O) - 'Y Not' is not a very good album, despite it being his highest charting album since 1976 (#58 on Billboard). I say this with some reticence as it's nice to see him still putting out new music at age 70. I also like Ringo and have all his studio work of the past 20 years. However, in comparison to that work it's a weak effort. It does have its nice moments, including a heartfel duet with Paul McCartney ("Walk With You"), a competent ballad ("Mystery of the Night") and a jaunty '80s-esque title track. The good doesn't outweigh the lame, however, or the bizarre. The album closer "Who's Your Daddy?" featuring Joss Stone, almost 50 years Ringo's junior, comes off a little creepy. If you want some latter day Starkey, I suggest skipping this (and 'Choose Love' from '05) and instead picking up 'Vertical Man' (1998) or 'Ringo Rama' (2003).

Country Music - Willie Nelson (Rounder) - Approaching age 80, with 50 years of recordings in his catalog and revered status as a country music legend, titling an album 'Country Music' is intriguing. Tack on the name of auteur T-Bone Burnett as producer, and expectations are high. Sadly, the result is a slightly less than extraordinary album, though his best since 'Songbird' in 2006. I think the Western swing selections come through with more honesty than his recent efforts in that genre. It's effortlessly listenable, but no surprises. If you blanched at the slick production of last year's 'American Classic', this may be the antidote.

Mojo - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Reprise) by guest review Jim Bates - In his review in Rolling Stone, David Fricke commented that Tom Petty and the Heatbreaker’s new album Mojo shares much in common with the Stones’ Exile on Main Street. While they do share the same source material of blues, country, and rock, the final products couldn’t be mo9re different. Exile is raw, dirty, and organic. While Mojo tries to be organic (all of the songs were recorded live in one take), the Heartbreakers are too refined and tasteful at this point to be raw or dirty, and that is a little sad. Even though it was recorded live, Mojo is digitally clean and sterile...it is not living and breathing as Exile was. I say "was" because the recent remaster has killed most of the feeling in the album. Now it just sounds loud...especially the drums...and digital. Skip the remaster and find an older copy. (Public Service Announcement: You can buy the second disc of out-takes by itself at Target for $10. There is no need to buy the two disc set like I did. Wish I knew that at the time...I didn’t need another copy of Exile.) This is not to say that “Mojo” isn’t good; it is, but just imagine if it hadn’t sounded so clean and polished. Maybe I’m just disappointed because all the pre-release promo press on the album made a point to say that Mike Campbell really lets loose on this one. He does...finally...on the last track “Good Enough.” I just wish rather then his usual restraint, he had played with that abandon throughout the whole album.

In its heart of hearts, Mojo is a blue album. Yes there is some Zep rock (“I Should Have Known It”), a jam (“First Flash of Freedom”), some bubblegum (“Candy”), Mudcrutch influenced county (“No Reason to Cry”), a trippy story song (“The Trip to Pirate’s Cove”) and even a reggae-tinged stoner song (“Don’t Pull Me Over”), but the vast majority of the album is blues. There’s 'she’s so heavy' blues (“Good Enough”), slow lovesick blues (“Lover’s Touch”), fuzzed out blues (“Taking My Time”), traveling acoustic slide blues (“U.S. 41"), urban blues (“Let Yourself Go”) and even Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings blues (“Jefferson Jericho Blues.”) Who knew the Heatbreakers were a blues band? The songs are fun, but like many blues they have one weakness...the lyrics don’t make much sense. Tom is kind of cheating here. The words may sound good in the tune, but they don’t say anything. Heck I’m not sure what “Trip to Pirate’s Cove” is really about, let alone why Thomas Jefferson is driving to Jericho. Kind of a far drive from Monticello isn’t it? Especially as Henry Ford hadn’t invented the Model T yet, let alone a submarine car.

This is a good fun album by a talented band, it just isn’t a classic like Exile on Main Street and any comparison of the two only highlights Mojo’s few flaws.